Chuck Newton

You Cannot Rampage More Than A Couple Hours A day - Executricks

Fortune Magazine's blogger Stanley Bing or CBS' Gil Schwartz -- call him what you will, he's interviewed by WallStrip's Julie Alexandra and talks about his new book, Executricks. Schwartz calls Attila the Hun one of his favorite "executricksters," saying, "You can't rampage more than a couple of hours a day, you have to have grog."

Delegate, be an ass, hold everybody accountable but yourself, personal independence are the tricks that can make you famous or cause those to resent those that are famous.

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Maybe You Should Tell Some Law Schools To Take Their Rankings And Shove Them ...

We all know lawyers who planned big only to be disenfranchised by the size of the obligations they ran up.  That is nowhere more true than choosing an overpriced law school because of the image that you believe it reflects due to its U.S. News rankings.

Susan Cartier Liebel over at Build A Solo Practice has covered this subject, and I recently posted on the study of William Henderson and Andrew Morriss in this regard.  Now the pair provides you more of their thoughts on the subject in a LawJobs.Com article.

As the article points out, where to go to law school is the biggest financial decision most applicants have ever made.  Yet, most applicants lack an understanding of the entry-level job market for new graduates in their area.  They improperly use U.S. News rankings to make their choice, and law schools flaunt these rankings to get a student to pay dearly for the costly education the law schools offer.

I have said, and will continue to say, that law schools that continue to hike already high tuition by double digits each year, and cannot seem to control spending, believing that they can do what they wish because they have manipulated the rankings enough that students will incur a morbid amount of debt, are disrespecting you as an applicant who just wants a decent legal education.  No matter what their ranking, if you have any choice in schools, let the option of attending that school go.  Send them on their way.  They are bad for you.  They may ruin you financially.

Bill And Hillary Cold Open

British Paper Declares USA 2008 Great Depression - Bankruptcy Practice Anybody?

The British paper The Independent has declared the USA is headed for the Great Depression of 2008.

Shocking?  Yes.  But, to them none of the economic indicators appear sound, especially in the area of jobs and the need for food stamps.

The paper declares that things are not only bad on Wall Street, but that they are worse on Main Street, stating that as official statistics show that as a new economic recession stalks the United States, a record number of Americans will shortly be depending on food stamps just to feed themselves and their families.

Dismal projections by the Congressional Budget Office in Washington suggest that in the fiscal year starting in October, 28 million people in the US will be using government food stamps to buy essential groceries, the highest level since the food assistance programme was introduced in the 1960s.

Emblematic of the downturn until now has been the parades of houses seized in foreclosure all across the country, and myriad families separated from their homes. But now the crisis is starting to hit the country in its gut. Getting food on the table is a challenge many Americans are finding harder to meet. As a barometer of the country's economic health, food stamp usage may not be perfect, but can certainly tell a story.

Forty states are reporting increases in applications for the stamps, actually electronic cards that are filled automatically once a month by the government and are swiped by shoppers at the till, in the 12 months from December 2006. At least six states, including Florida, Arizona and Maryland, have had a 10 per cent increase in the past year.

The US Department of Agriculture says the cost of feeding a low-income family of four has risen 6 per cent in 12 months.  And the next monthly job numbers, to be released this Friday, are likely to show 50,000 more jobs were lost nationwide in March, and the unemployment rate is up to perhaps 5 per cent.

First, Fire The Managers!

The Third Wave is all about flattening management structures.  Therefore, when I read this article about Neil Johnson getting rid of his managment to improve business at International Merchant Services I knew this would be enlightening.

Before starting International Merchant Services Inc. in 1992, Neil Johnson worked in a number of areas, including sales, but had no management or business experience, much like most lawyers that go into the business of law.  So, at his automatic teller machine products and services company he thought the answer was to hire others (a lot of others) to help him manage his growing company.  He added layers of management, which only complicated his company.  This, as it always does, began to isolate him from his employees and customers.

I have always thought that lawyers want to be isolated from their employees and clients and that is the reason they grow these strangely configured firms with palace guards stationed at every step.  But, the more that I think about it, it is that fear that lawyers lack the experience and, at least early on, they feel they need in both business and the practical practice of law.  They feel self-conscious about it, and doubt their own abilities to think through issues, and they hire staff to handle in this day and age what most attorneys can do for themselves.  Then as they add structure they simply cannot let go of the status quo.

But, Neil Johnson came to recognize the problem and did something about it for the improvement of his company.

In his company with the addition various layers of management, employee moral began to suffer, customer complaints were on the rise and sales were flat.  Sound familiar?  This called for action, and he had to admit that bulking up on management was not helping.

He began to eliminate one layer of management after another.  Then in 2006. things began to improve, more requests for proposals started rolling in and the deals are even larger than before. The excitement had returned.

It really takes a leap of faith to make these decisions, but they are so vitally necessary.  Lawyers need to get rid of the staff, management and others that only slow or complicated the firm and isolate the lawyer from the client.  And, do not forget, that it is expensive as well.  It represents money, much of which could be going into the lawyer's pocket.

Carolyn Elephant Can Speak For Me Anytime

Law.Com reports that Carolyn Elefant wants to be the voice for solo lawyers.  Well, let me tell you something.  Carolyn can be my voice and speak for me as a solo any little ol' time she wants.  Read the article.  And, buy her book -- her roadmap -- Solo By Choice.

I Would Say I Am A Clutter Butt, But I Am Not

I do not know, maybe Peter Walsh is on to something with his new book, Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?

Well, does it?

Peter Walsh is the organizational mastermind behind Peter Walsh Design, and he says that if you clean up the clutter in your home, your office (your home office), then you will trim down.  He claims that there is a a definite connection between the clutter in your house and the clutter on your hips.  He says that clutter and weight can be symptoms of an unresolved, underlying issue in your life. "Eating more and buying more is an attempt to fill the need for something more," he says. "Until you get those underlying issues dealt with, all the rest is a waste of time."

After all, a lot of attorneys have fat asses, and a lot of attorneys have a lot of clutter in their homes and offices.  The problem is that I have a big butt, I am overweight, but I do not have that much clutter either in my home, my office or, as the case is, my home office.  Sure I probably have a few more pieces of paper in which I scratch down some things until I get it on the computer, but I have disproportional more ass than I have paper or any other type of clutter.

One defense I have, however, is that I do have four children, and you know what having four children can do to a guy's body.

Do not get me wrong.  I think clutter is a bad thing.  I also do not like my big butt.  I think we should try hard to control both.  I am just not sure there is the connection suggested.

One of my favorite big butt stories involves a debtor's attorney pleading with the chapter 13 trustee's at bankruptcy court to not move to dismiss his clients case for non-payment of trustee payments.  The attorney was just an ol' country boy like me, and the Texas pronunciation of things does not help.  The trustee stated, "Your client is trying to appeal to my largess [lahr-jes] to keep me from dismissing his case."  The attorney responded,  "I don't care about your large ass, my client just needs some additional time catch up on his payments".

Should you want more big butt entertainment, I give you the video my daughter produced about sumo wrestlers while in Japan, below.   

(Large butt pictured does not represent my large ass.  Ass sizes can differ).

Are You A Small Scale Clinton, Obama Or McCain?

If your response is "Yuk, no" then you are likely not succeeding.

Last year Chris Matthews wrote a book called Life's a Campaign.  I am not sure it did very well and I recall it receiving a lot of criticism from people like Jon Stewart, which prompted Matthews to complain that his book interview on The Daily Show was "the worst interview I've ever had in my life!"  Jon Stewart called it a "self-hurt book" and told Matthews that "I'm not trashing your book, I'm trashing your philosophy of life".  He also called it "a recipe for sadness".

Solo By Choice - What Business Entity Do You Choose

I have covered Carolyn Elefant's book Solo by Choice a few times previously.  (You can read these review by clicking here, here, and here).  I call the book a road map really of the decision that must be made and the thought process that you must go through before taking the leap into the solo practice of law.  But, one of the areas of interest in Carolyn's book is what business entity do you need in starting out.

Sole proprietorship,  corporation, and then all of the different entities like LLCs.  For my money (or lack of money as the case maybe) I chose no structure at all.  This is to say that I am a solo practitioner.  This is what I find is best for me.  It does not cost anything and typically services are cheaper if you are purchasing them under your name instead of a business.  For example, bank accounts are more expensive for Chuck Newton, Inc. than they are for Chuck Newton the person.  The same is true for broadband, telephone services and many more items.

Many people chose business entities to try and avoid liabilities, such as debt and malpractice.  After all, who knows what is going to happen.  To me, however, I have found that the protections these entities provide are a myth for the solo lawyer.  Try to borrow money without you signing personally for it.  Your entity fails and you will still be responsible for the debt.  Touch a file and someone accuses you of screwing up, they will sue you and the entity.  Lawyers are personally liable regardless.

There use to be tax advantages in being incorporated, but not so much any more.

But, these are my positions.  This is what I have found works for me.  You cannot, however, avoid thinking about this if you are going into the solo practice of law.  It all really depends on where you practice, what you practice, how you practice, and what it is you want to achieve.  It is no a sexy subject and it is easy to avoid.  However, you have to understand and face the options if being a solo is your muse.

For this you are going to need Carolyn's valuable book.

Solo By Choice - Going Solo Straight Out Of Law School

Carolyn Elefant is the publisher of the famed solo law blog My Shingle.  Most of you read the blog and those that do not should.  She is also the author of a new book on the subject entitled Solo by Choice.  I have blogged about the book before (you can read these post by clicking here and here).  It is recommended reading if you are in the solo practice of law or are thinking about joint the ranks.  In a way it reminds me of the old Visa ad - "Don't leave home without it."  You probably should not enter the solo practice of law without this book.

One important topic covered by the book is whether to enter the solo practice of law straight out of law school.  I did.  You can to.  I have my own reasons for thinking it is preferred.  Carolyn does not take a position one way or the other.  She does something more valuable, however.  She discusses the pros and cons of doing so.  She forces you to look at your strengths and your weaknesses and she assists you in making a decision that is right for you.

Is going solo upon graduation the best option for you?  It might be the only option.  You had better know.

It is written that in all your getting, get understanding.  I think that is the really the premise of this book.  As I have said, it is a road map.  This does not mean that you cannot blaze your own trail, or go off road, but would it not be nice to have a road map just in case you need it?  I think so.

I really did not have such a guide when I went into private practice in 1986.  As I have said, it like falling down the stairs in the dark.  It is a hard way to learn.

My advice to you is to get the book, read the book, and get understanding.